Interleaving device for printing machines



June 10, 1930. 1W, HORN 1,763,308

INTERLEAVING DEVICE FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed June 13 1928 3Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVENTOR BY M WWW ATTORNEYS June 10, 1930.

T. w. HORN 1,763,308

INTERLEAVING DEVICE FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed June 18, 1928 5Sheets-Sheet 2 a Jami/Jaw WWW ATTORNEY 8 June 10, 1930. T. w. HORNINTERLEAVING DEVICE FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed June 18. 1928 3Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented June 10, 1930 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS WALTER HORN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO A. B. DICK COMPANY,OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS INTERLEAVING DEVICE FORPRINTING MACHINES Application filed June 18,

This invention relates to an interleaving device for printing machines,and is herein illustrated as applied to a stencil machine of the rotarycylinder type with which it has partlcular utility. It is necessary tointerleave slipsheets of absorbent paper between V the freshlyprintedsheetsldelivered from a printing machine to prevent smearing ofthe printed sheets oroff-setting of the impressions from the printedsheet to the back of a superimposed printed sheet.

' An object of the present invention is to provide an interleavingmechanism which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture,reliable in operation and easily attached to standard printing machines,particularly those of the rotary stencil duplicating type.

Another object is to provide a slip sheet feeding mechanism which willcooperate with the printing mechanism in such manner as to deliver theslip sheets onto the printed sheets without sliding of one sheet upontheother, and, therefore, without smearing the printed sheets. I

A further object is to provide a. slip sheet feeding mechanism whichoperates continuously and which delivers the slip sheets to thereceiving receptacle substantially simultaneously with the delivery ofthe printed sheets thereto.

A still further object is to provide a slip sheet feeding attachment inwhich the slip sheet mechanism is so mounted upon the printing mechanismthat it will be in a position convenient for the operator, and still notinterfere in any way with the normal operation of the printingmechanism.

Another object is to provide an interleaving mechanism wherein sheetswhich may be placed in the magazine substantially corresponds to thenumber of printed sheets which may be run through the printing machinebetween eachloading of theautomati'c feed mechanism of the machine.

Another object is to provide an interleaving mechanism for a printingmachine, which will increase the utility of the machine in that allgrades of bond papers may be used operation of the machine,

the number of slip 1928. Serial No. 286,178.

position 'clear of the printing mechanism to permit access thereto.

Another object is to provide an interleaving mechanism adapted to beattached to and run from a printing machine which will not materiallyincrease the operative load imposed upon the working parts of the machine.

Another object is to provide an interleaving mechanism adapted to beattached to and run from a printing machine in such manner that thespeed of operation of the mechanism will always be in direct ratio tothe speed of thereby relieving the operator of the necessity ofadjusting the timing of the delivery of the slip sheets.

' Another Object is to provide means mounted as a unit with theinterleaving of as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to whichthe invention appertains.

In the accompanying drawings showing an'embodiment of the invention,Figure l is a side elevational view of the interleaving mechanism whenthe same is mounted upon a printing machine of the rotary stencilduplicating type, such machine being shown somewhat schematically.

Figure 2 is atop plan view of the interleaving mechanism.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view thereof.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section through the interleavingmechanism and printing machine, and

Figure 5 is a detail view of a portion of the interleaving mechanism.

In the accompanying drawings the present invention is lllustrated asapplied to a stenciling machine of the rotary cylinder type; the machineshown herein having a suitable supporting frame 1, a printing cylinder2, and an impression roller 3, yieldingly pressed against the undersideof the cylinder 2 by means of a spring 4:. The sheets to be printed uponare sup-ported in a suitable magazine 5 at the front of the machine andare delivered one at a time to the printing cylinder by suitable feedingmechanism including a feed roller 6, by which the sheets are advancedinto the space between the cylinder 2 and the roller 3 and from whichthey are delivered into a suitable adjustable receiving receptacle 7 atthe rear of the printing machine. The printing machine so far describedis old and well known and a more detailed description thereof is,therefore, thought. to be unnecessary, it being sufiicient for thepurpose of illustrating the present invention to state that the sheetsof paper are'taken one at a time from the magazine 5, printed upon anddelivered successively into the receiving receptacle 7 The presentinvention relates to a means whereby a slip sheet is automaticallypositioned on top of each printed sheet delivered into the receptacle 7and this means comprises a suitable magazine 8, which is adapted to bearranged insuch position that a suitable feeding mechanism associatedtherewith will deliver the slip sheets on edge, or at an angle to thehorizontal, into the receptacle 7 in such manner that the slip sheetswill be interleaved between each pair of superimposed printed sheets.

In the present embodiment the magazine 8 is supported directly above theprinting cylinder of the printing machine and forms a part of the slipsheet interleaving unit, which also includes the slip sheet feedingmechanism and the slip sheet deflector. The slip sheet interleavingdevice ismounted or attached to the printing machine by means ofattaching brackets 9 preferably in the form of castings and adapted tobe secured at their lower ends to each side of the frame 1 near the rearthereof and extending upwardly therefrom on a slight rearward curve. The

, upper ends of the brackets 9 are flanged inwardly so as to provide asupporting surface and are recessed to receive the ends of a cross bar11, which are secured thereto by means of bolts or other suitablesecuring means 10. The crossbar 11 is a part of the interleaving unitand carries adjacent to its opposite ends angle brackets 12 which arewelded or otherwise secured thereto, the free arm of these bracketsextending upwardly and rearwardly from the cross bar and being providedwith brackets 12 and extends transversely of the interleaving mechanismand of the printing machine, one end of the shaft projectingconsiderably beyond a bracket 12 and being provided with a pair ofsprockets 18 and 18 r0- tatable therewith, the sprocket 18 being at theend of the shaft and operatively connected and disconnected therefrom bymeans of a spring tensioned clutch 18 and the sprocket 18", which is thelarger one, being keyed or otherwise fixed to the shaft adjacent to thebracket 12. The sprocket 18 is operatively connected by means of a chain20 to a sprocket 21 which is fixed to the end of a shaft 19 arranged inthe operative gear train for driving the print ing machine.

The supporting frames 14, which carry the slip sheet magazine 8, theslip sheet feed mechanism and the slip sheet deflector of theinterleaving unit, are pivotally mounted in spaced relation upon theshaft 13, being held against aXial movement thereon by the brackets 12and collars 15 keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft. These supportingframes include an upwardly extending portion having an enlarged upperend providing bearing and attaching points for the slip sheet feedingmechanism and the slip sheet .deflector, while arms 16 project from theframe toward'the front of the printing machine and at an upwardlyinclined angle thereto so as to be slightly above the printing cylinder2. These arms 16 provide the support for the slip sheet magazine, whichis pivotally supported upon a shaft 17, fixedly mounted in openingsadjacent to the end of the arms, by means of apertured lugs 17?extending downwardly from the underside of the magazine adjacent itsopposite longitudinal edges. The pivotal connection between the magazineand the shaft 17 is arranged nearer to one end of the magazine than tothe other, so that the weight of the slip sheets will rock the magazineabout such pivot and always maintain the top slip sheet of the pile inengagement with the feed roller of the slip sheet feeding mechanismlater to be described. The magazinc 8 is preferably in the form of anupwardly presenting channel, the forward end of which is open so thatthe slip sheets may be readily inserted into the same, while therearward end is closed by a transversely extending retaining member 8secured to the arms 16 and having its upper end angularly deflected asindicated at 8*, whereby the retaining member will serve to maintain theslip sheets in the magazine While the angular deflection 8 will serve toguide the same through the feeding mechanism.

7 to the lower end of an arm 23 which is inwardly offset intermediateits ends so as to bring its other end nearer to the plane of thesupporting frame 14. This adapted to be oscillated by the shaft 13through its pivotal connection to the crank 22, and in order that thisoscillatory movement may be imparted and translated into a rotarymovement of certain other parts of the mechanism, it is providedadjacent to its upper end with a rack 24 welded or otherwise secured tothe inner side thereof. The rack 24 is adapted to mesh with a pinion 25fixed to the end of a transversely extending shaft 26 which isjournalled in bearings provided thereforin the enlarged upper portionsof the supporting frames 14, the rack being held in meshing engagementwith the pinion by means of a guide 27 having spaced leg portionspivotally mounted on the shaft on each side of the pinion. Since theshaft13 is connected through the sprockets l8 and 21 and b the chain 20with the shaft 19 of the printing machine, it is clear that eachrevolution of the shaft 19 will effect a revolution of the 1 shaft 13and, in turn, the shaft 26 will be ro' tated first in one direct-ion andthen in the other according as the arm 23 is moving upwardly ordownwardly, and that each of these rotations take place approximatelyduring one'half of the period of each rotation of the shaft 26 in theanti-clockwise direction will serve to actuate a slip sheet feedingroller 28, and since such actuation of the feeding roll is occurringduring only one half of the period of each rotation of the shafts 19 and13, the slip sheets will be fed at the same speed at which the printedsheets are delivered into the receptacle 7 because ordinarily onlyapproximately one half of the period of rotation of the machine cylindereffects feeding movement-to the printed sheets, theother half of suchperiod beingutilized for the printing operation.

The feeding roller 28 is mounted on the shaft 26 midway between thesupporting frames 14 and adjacent to the rear end of the slip sheetmagazine 8, the mounting of the roller upon the shaft being such that.it is actuated only during the anti-clockwise rotation of the shaft andis idle during the clockwise rotation thereof. In effecting thismounting ofthe roller 28 itis rotatably arranged on the shaft 26 betweena collar 29 and a ratchet wheel 30 fixed thereto, while a pawl 31pivotally carried by an end face of the roller is constantly pressedinto engagement with the teeth of the ratchet means of a spring 32 alsosecured to the end arm 23 is wheel by face of the roller. Hence it willbe seen that as the shaft 26 rotates in a clockwise direction duringupward movement of'the rack 24 that the ratchet 30 and pawl 31 will idlymove relative to each other but that during the anti-clockwise rotationof the. shaft upon downward movement of the rack 24 the pawl and ratchetwill be in engagement and that,

therefore, the roller 28 will be rotated in an anti-clockwise direction.The roller 28 is provided externally with a friction surface, preferablyin the nature of a rubber surface having a plurality of sheet engagingknobs 33 projecting therefrom, and since the end of the slip sheetmagazine 8 tends to constantly swing upwardly toward the roller becauseof its pivotal connection to the supporting frames 14, it is clear thatthe top sheet of the pile of slip sheets in the magazine will be alwaysin operative engagement with the surface of the roller and will be movedor fed thereby toward the rear of the machine during anti-clockwiserotation of the roller. The

transversely extending retaining member 8 will guide the slip sheet thusfed, because of the angular-deflection 8 on its upper edge, etweenreversing rollers and a guide or limiting plate now about to bedescribed.

A shaft 34 is rotatably journalled in aligned earings in the supportingframes 14 forwardly and downwardly of the position of the shaft 26, asprocket 35 being fixed to the end of the shaft on the side of themechanism with the sprockets 18 and 18. A pair of spaced frictionrollers 36 are keyed to the 'eing substantially on a line with the upperedge of the angular deflection 8 of the member 8 A transverselyextending plate 37 having its opposite ends 38 flanged and secured tothe supporting frames 14 overlies the rollers 36, a suflicient clearancebeing provided betweenthe plate and the rollers to perg shaft 34, theupper surface of these rollers the shafts 19 and 13. Therefore, rotationof b mit of approximately several slip sheets passing therebetween. Anupwardly and forwardly extending portion 39 is arranged along the frontedge of the plate so as to pro- Ject toward the roller 28, an openingbeing provided in said portion to accommodate the roller. The purpose ofthe foregoing arrangement will be-more fully explained durmg thedescription setting forth the operation of the mechanism.

Another shaft 40 is rotatably j ournalled in the supporting frames 14adjacent the upper-- rear ends thereof, so as to be located slightlybelow andrearwardly of the shaft 26, although substantially on a Thisshaft is. provided with a pair of spaced vrelativelylarge rollers 41preferably having friction material on their surfaces and is adapted tobe of a sprocket 42 fixed on one circumferential driven by means endthereof. A

whereby anti-clockwise rotation of the shaft line therewith.

' chain 43 encircles the sprockets 18 35 and 42,

to carry the slip sheet toward the front of the machine while therollers 41 engaging the upper side of a slip sheet will serve as feedrollers. A transverse shaft 44 is journalled in yieldable bearings 45carried by the supporting frames 14, so that idler rollers 46 carriedthereby will engage each of the rollers 41 on their under side with ayielding pressure.

The upper portion of the supporting frames 14 are provided at their rearwith a rearwardly and downwardly projecting part 47 to which the slipsheet deflector 48 is adjustably connected. This deflector issubstantially channel shape and presents downwardly, the side flanges 49of the channel being .longer at their attaching end than at other pointsthroughout their length, and is adapted to be adjusted upwardly ordownwardly so that the slip sheets will be deflected on edge into therear end of the printed sheet receptacle no matter to what length suchreceptacle is adjusted with respect to the printing machine. To this endthe deflector is mounted so that the part 47 of the frames 14 extendinto the channel adjacent to the side flanges thereof, while the sideflanges are pivotally connected to the part 47 by pivot screws 50 andare held in different positions of pivotal adjustment by means of anarcuate slot 51 formed in the side flanges and a screw 52 passingtherethrough and into the part 47.

The lower ends of the supporting frames 14 are each provided with a pairof arcuately spaced outwardly projecting pins 53 and 54 which engage theupper edge of the brackets 12 and serve to limit the movement of theinterleaving mechanism or unit when it is swung bodily to the operativeor inoperative positions.

The foregoing detailed explanation of the structural and operative partsof theinterleaving unit is sufficient to make clear the followingdescription covering the operation of the mechanism and the peculiar andnovel advantages inherent therein.

In the operation of the machine the printing cylinder is continuouslydriven and the sheets, fed one at a time at intervals from the magazine5, are printed upon and delivered into-the receptacle 7 During theoperation of the printing machine the shaft 19 in the rear train thereofis constantly rotating in an anti-clockwise direction and, of course,the sprocket 21 carried by said shaft rotates the sprocket 18 of theinterleaving mechanism through the chain connection 20. As soon as theclutch device 18 is moved to clutch the sprocket 18 to the shaft 13 thisrotation is imparted to the shaft 13, the sprocket 18 and the crank 22.The rotation of the sprocket 18 being in an anti-clockwise directionwill rotate the shafts 34 and 40 in a similar direction because of itsconnection therewith'through the chain 43, while the crank 22 willoscillate the arm 23 and rack 24, thereby rotating the shaft 26 in aclockwise direction during upward movement of the arm. The feed roller28 will be intermittently rotated in an anti-clockwise direction by themovement of the shaft 26 because of the ratchet and pawl drivingconnection therebetween, while the reversing rollers 36 and the feedroller 41 will be constantly rotated in an anti-clockwise direction.

The slip sheet magazine 8 is of sufficient size to contain approximatelythe same number of slip sheets as the number of printed sheets which maybe run through the machine at each loading, so that it is not necessaryto stop the operation of the machine in order to supply more slip sheetsto the interleaving mechanism. When the pile of slip sheets is placed inthe magazine 8 the offcenter pivotal mounting of the magazine will causeit to swing upwardly at its rear end so that the top sheet of the pileis always in engagement with the feed roller 28 as the pile diminishesin size. This arrangement enables the feeding of the slip sheets to beeffected from the top of the pile so that the weight of the pile of slipsheets has no relation to the operation of the mechanism consequentlyimposing no material additional load upon the operative parts of theprinting machine. The feeding of theslip sheets from the top of the pilealso enables the position of the magazine 8 to be considerably lower ornearer to the cylinder 2 of the printing machine, thereby providing amore compact and convenient arrangement when the interleaving unit iscombined with the printing machine.

The printing machine and the interleaving unit being in operation, thefeed roller 28 will move the top slip sheet rearwardly dur ing itsanti-clockwise rotation, the angular deflection 8 of the plate 8 guidingsuch sheet so that it passes between the reversing rollers 36 and theplate 37, which members are spaced apart only sufiiciently to admit ofseveral slip sheets entering therebetween. Supposing that in addition tothe top slip sheet several other sheets have been moved by the roller28, it is clear that the reversing rollers 36 engaging the under side ofsuch sheets in their anti-clockwise rotation will move the sameforwardly again toward the magazine 8, while the top slip sheet willcontinue its feeding movement toward the rear of the machine. Theleading end of the top.

slip sheet then passes between the feed rollers 41 and the idler rollers46, the latter of which are mounted to be yieldingly pressed toward theformer. The rollers 41 advance the sheet rearwardly while the deflectorguide 48, which has been suitably adjusted, deflects the rearwardmovement of-the whereby the same is delivered into the receptacle 7adjacent-the rear end thereof and on edge, or at an angle to thehorizontal, after which the sheet falls forwardly upon the top of aprinted sheet. The slip sheets being delivered on edge fall forwardlyupon the printedsheets without any relative sliding movement thereon, aswould be the case were the slip sheets delivered upon top of the printedsheets substantially parallel therewith, as a result of which all dangerof smearing or blotting the printed sheets is obviated.

The operator of the machine is relieved of all responsibility of timingthe delivery of the slip sheets in accordance with the delivery of theprinted sheets, since the feed roller 28 being connected to the shaft 26to rotate therewith only during its anti-clockwise rotation advances theslip sheets in time with the printed sheets, so that when the speed ofoperation of the printing machine varies the speed of delivery of theslip sheets varies in direct proportion thereto, as the relative speedof operation of the printing machine and of the interleaving mechanismis always unity.

The interleavi mechanism, including the supporting frames, the slipsheet magazine, the feeding mechanism, and'the deflector or guide, isadapted to be mounted upon the printingmachine as a self-contained unit,and when so mounted may be swung to the operative or inoperativeposition as a unit. Thedeflector or guide of thaunit may be adjusted sothat the slip sheets will be delivered on edge into the rear end of thereceptacle 7, no matter what adjustment as to length has been made tosaid receptacle, while such deflector, when the unit is moved to theinoperative position, will not interfere with the delivery of theprinted sheets to the receptacle when the machine is operating withoutthe use of slip sheets.

From the foregoing detailed description of the structural parts of themechanism and of the operation thereof, it will be seen that theinterleaving mechanism is a self-contained unit all parts of which areconnected in one operation to the printing machine; that such unit iscompact and closely positioned upon the printing machine; that theoperation of the mechanism does not impose a ma:

terial additional load upon the printing machine since the slip sheetsare fed from the top of the pile, that the number of slip sheets and thenumber of printed sheets which may be run through the mechanism and themachine at one loading thereof corresponds, thus eliminating thenecessity of stopping the machine for reloading slip sheets; that therelative speed of operation of the mechanism and the machine is unity,thus relieving the operator of responsibility as to synchronizing thespeed of delivery of the printed sheets sheet downwardly and slipsheets; that even though the deflector v or guide is attached to and apart of the interleaving unit, the unit may be moved to the inoperativeposition without hindering the nqrmal operation of the printing machine;and in addition to the above that a number of other advantagesare-inherent therein which will be readily recognized by one skilled inthe art.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustratedand described, it should be understood that the same is not limitedthereto but is susceptible of such modifications and adaptations as fallwithin t scope of the appended claims.

aving thus described my invention, I claim: 4

1. The combination with a printing machine having a printing cylinder, amagazine for the sheets to be printed upon in front of said cylinder, areceptacle for printed sheets in the rear of said cylinder, and meansfor feeding the sheets one at a time from the 'magazine and past thecylinder into the receptacle, of an interleaving mechanism ad apted tointerleave slip sheets With the printed "sheets in the receptaclecomprising a maga-' zine adapted to receive a pile of slip sheets, meansfor feeding'the slip sheets one at a time on edge into the receptaclefor the printed sheets so that each sheet will fall downwardly about itsedge upon the top of a printed sheet, said magazinebeing pivotallysupported at a point beyond its center whereby it will always rock aboutits support so that the top sheet of the pile will bein engagement Withthe feeding means.

2. The combination with a printing machine having a printing cylinder, amagazine for the sheets to be printed upon in front of said cylinder, areceptacle for printed sheets in the rear of said cylinder, and meansfor feeding the sheets one at a time from the magazine and past thecylinderinto thereceptacle, of, an interleaving mechanism adapted tointerleave slip .sheets with the printed sheets and comprising a llIlltattachable to and detachable from the printing machine, said'unitincluding a magazine for the slip sheets, means for feeding the slipsheets one at a time from the magazine, and means for deflecting theslip sheets so fed on edge into the receptacle for the printed sheets,said magazine being pivotally supported at a point removed from itscenter whereby it will rock about its point of support and maintain thetop slip sheet of the feeding the sheets one at a time from the magazineand past the cylinder into t e reoeptaele, of an interleaving mechanismadapted to interleave slip sheets with the printed sheets in thereceptacle, said mechanism comprising a magazine adapted to contain apile of slip sheets, means for feeding the slip sheets toward thereceptacle for the printed sheets, means for causing the top sheet ofthe pile in the magazine to be in engagement with said last named means,means for preventing more than one slip sheet to pass through thefeeding means at a time, and means for deflecting each slip sheet as itis passed through the feeding means on edge into the receptacle for theprinted sheets so that the slip sheet will fall downwardly about itsedge on the top of a printed sheet.

4. In combination with a printing machine of the type having a printingcylinder, a magazine for the sheets to be printed upon in front of saidcylinder, a receptacle for the printed sheets in the rear of saidcylinder, and means for feeding the sheets one at a time from themagazine and past the cylinder into the receptacle, of an interleavingmechanism adapted to interleave slip sheets with the printed sheets andto be attached to and detached from the printing machine as a unit, saidmechanism comprising a pivotally supported magazine adapted to contain apile of slip sheets and having its point of pivotal support in anoff-center position so that it will rock in a predetermined direction,

means for feeding the slip sheets one at a time toward the receptaclefor the printed sheets and adapted to be always in engagement with thetop sheet of the pile of slip sheets in the magazine, said means beingoperatively connected with the printing machine to operate in unitytherewith, and

means for deflecting the slip sheets as they are fed by the feedingmeans on edge into the receptacle for the printed sheet so that eachslip sheet will fall downwardly about its edge upon the top of a printedsheet.

5. The combination with a printing machine having a printing cylinder, amagazine for the sheets to be printed upon in front of said cylinder, areceptacle for the printed sheets in the rear of said cylinder, andmeans for feeding the sheets one at a time from the magazine and pastthe cylinder into the receptacle, of an interleaving mechanism adaptedto be attached to and detached from the printing machine as a unit, saidmechanism comprising supporting frames, a magazinc for containing a pileof slip sheets pivotally connected to said frames so as to always swingin a predetermined direction, feed rollers supported by said supportingframe, one of said rollers being always in engagement with the top sheetof the pile of slip sheets in the magazine and intermittently rotated ina predetermined direction, the other of said rollers being constantlyrotated in the same direction, and means ad- THOMAS WALTER HORN.

